2024 has only just begun and, so far, I have been busy with just having a new baby. I would still love to set up routines and goals for the next months. I feel that, every time I have tried so far, something unforeseen happens.

Like the last few weeks when Rich went back to work and I wanted to create our daily routine: The first two days Josephine was sick and at home. Then I got sick. Then Ophelia got sick, and I spent two days with her in hospital. This week, she has had two doctor appointments, which take quite some time. But at least those I can usually plan further ahead for.

Anyways, I really want to simplify my life a bit and also focus on me. Mostly because that isn’t always as easy with two small kids. Therefore I feel that specific plans might pan out better for me than just a general “I should set up routines”.

These are my goals for 2024 for now

Weekly Routines

• I want to figure out a weekly schedule, mostly for chores like a specific day for laundry or programming our vacuum robot again for specific days and times.
• Weather permitting, I want to take one day trip per week with Ophelia when we are at home. Day trip means the time between dropping off and picking up Josephine from daycare, i.e. about 6 hours.
• I want us to do more meal planning because it reduces stress. We already started that with our last Aldi order, and it definitely helps to 1) have a plan of what we want to cook and eat, 2) to order less random foods (me! It is me who always does this!), and 3) to use all my cookbooks which I now scan for meal ideas.
• Once a week, I want to use up something older from our pantry.

Focus on Myself

• I want to write for at least 30 minutes on 5 days per week.
• That also means I want to blog more consistently again and publish my Substack newsletter every Saturday (if you read the one from last week, you find out why exactly Ophelia and I were in hospital for two days).
• I want to create more and consume less. That includes social media because I actually enjoy taking photos and creating videos, but I easily find excuses and just scroll through the apps instead.
• That includes no phone during meal times. I don’t even use it most of the time, but it lies on our dining table.
• I want to go through my subscriptions and get rid of the ones I do not use enough.
• I need to figure out what I want to do next career-wise. I enjoyed my job before Ophelia was born, but do not think it is sustainable with two kids. Like I don’t want to leave the house at 6.30 a.m. and leave Rich alone with getting two small kids ready. And then when I came home, often only between 5 and 6 p.m., I was so exhausted that I wasn’t much of a help either.
• I want to live healthier, i.e. eat less sweets, eat more fruits and vegetables, move more. I have already started simply with a green smoothie every day, and picking up Josephine from daycare includes a brisk walk and climbing stairs while carrying a baby and a toddler and often a stroller. Mostly, I just want to feel a little more energetic, and after two pregnancies in two years, my body feels a bit tired. I also belong to the category of people who lose hardly any weight while breastfeeding, but I want to try at least to support the weight loss.

Other Goals

• I want to feel less stressed when I travel with both girls on public transport (like every day when we pick up Josephine from daycare). This includes two parts: my mindset and my planning ahead, e.g. leave 5 minutes earlier from home, bring more snacks to keep Josephine happy on the subway home.
• I want to sort all my shelves, which will probably take forever. But I feel it is quite necessary. I might have maybe (possibly) lost overview of all the stuff I have, which is why I really need to go through all of it.
• I want to paint our bathroom, which, unfortunately, includes stripping the current bazillion layers of paint off the walls before repainting. This is most likely my most ambitious goal, considering that I have issues finishing projects. And this is a project I cannot give up on half way.

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